Air actuated cleaning tool



Jan. 13, 1959 J. E. DUFF AIR ACTUATED CLEANING TOOL Filed April 4, 1955 United States Patent AIR 'ACTUATED CLEAN ING TOOL JacklE. Duff, Canton, Ohio, assignor to The Hoover Company, North Canton, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Application April '4, 1955,'Serial No- 499,036

2 Claims. (Cl. 15-404) The instant invention relates to suction cleaning tools and more particularlyto a novel-cleaning .tool in which there is provided pneumatic meansfor agitating the surface. to, be. cleaned.

In cleaning upholstery, drapes :and like materials by the use ofsuction cleaningmeans, it is customary to provide-acleaning tool comprising a suction nozzle and abrush element which is passed over the surface being cleanedv for removing thedust and'like-litter from the surface by the suction flow of air entering the tool through the nozzle mouth. In use of the suction cleaning tool, itis passed over the'surface in a series of forward and backward strokes with the brush sweeping the surface to dislodge the dust and like litter therefrom for removal of the dust and litter by the suction stream of air. Such a cleaning operation may be effective to remove substantially all of the dust and like litter from the surface being cleaned, if the cleaning tool is passed over the surface a sufiicient number of-times. However, the-cleaning, operation may be accelerated and may be made generally more-efficient by providing some means forv agitating the surface as the cleaning tool is passed thereover.

It isa customarypracticein the art to provide a rotary agitator in a floor suction cleanerwhich beats and sweeps the floor covering as the cleaningmachine is traversed thereover. The beating and sweeping action of the agitator, in combination with the suction flow of air through the floor covering, results in a cleaning. action that is far more efficient than that which would be obtained with suction means alone. Floor coverings are made to .withstand severe usage and will therefore stand up without any appreciable added wear or damage under the beating and sweeping action of a power-driven agitator. However, upholstery, drapes and like fabrics are not constructed with the same wear resistance as are floor coverings and, accordingly, cannotbe subjected-to the same type-of beating and sweeping action orthey will wear out in an unreasonably short time. Accordingly, it has been the practice in the art to provide cleaning tools for upholstery, drapes and the like which rely merely upon the suction flow of air to clean the same, suffering the disadvantages of not having a beating means to dislodge the dust and like litter from the surface being cleaned in favor of prolonging the life of the material.

In accordance with the instant invention, there is provided a cleaning tool for use with a suction producing and filtering device of a known form, which cleaning tool is particularly adapted to suction cleaning of upholstery, drapes and like materials, and in which there is provided a means for beating the surface of these materials as they are cleaned to dislodge the dust and like litter therefrom and to augment the cleaning action that is obtained by the use of a suction stream of air alone. The suction cleaning tool of the instant invention is constructed to be used in substantially the same manner as those cleaning tools heretofore known to the art. The novel cleaning tool may be secured to the "ice . for agitating the surface to be cleaned.

It is a furtherobject of the instant invention to provide a novel suction cleaning tool in which there is provided means for agitating .the surface to be. cleaned, which means is pneumatically operated bythesuction flowof air entering the nozzle mouth.

It is a further object of the instant invention to provide a novel suction cleaning tool which is particularly adapted for cleaning operations on upholstery, drapes and like materials, for agitating the surface thereof to dislodge dust and-like litter therefrom, for-removal of thesameby-the suction stream of air entering the cleaning tool.

Furtherobjects and advantages of the instantinvention willappear to.those skilled in the art upon con- 5 sideration of the detailed description of a preferred embodimentof the invention which'follows, reference being had vto the drawings in which:

Figure lis a front view inperspective of a suction cleaning-toolconstructed in-accordance with the instant invention,

Figure 2 is a .sectional view in-elevation of the inven= tionv taken on thewline 22 in Fig. 3, and

Figure 3 is a bOltOIIt plan view of the novel suction cleaning tool.

Referringto the drawings, the novel suction cleaning tool-oftheinstant invention comprises a nozzle body formed with arearwardly extending dirty air stream disp and manipulating the same.

charge conduit 11. The discharge conduit 11 may include any conventional means for securing it to the end -of-a' suction hose which in turn is connected to a suction producing andafiltering device of va known form. The discharge conduit 11 and-the adjacent endof'the suction hose constitute. a hand grip, for holding the cleaning'tool The interior of the nozzle body ltlnis formed'withan elongated passage 12 which communicates withthe dirtyair stream dis-charge conduit-11. A bottom plate 13 is secured to the underside of;the nozzle body 10 by-bolts 14, or. the like, which anchor in the wall 15:.Ofgthe nozzle body l0. The bottom plate 13 includes an elongated nozzle mouth 16 which forms-a continuationof the air passage 12 and leads to the;-latte r.

While the nozzle body 10 and the bottom plate 13 are illustrated as being distinct elements in the suction cleaning tool, these may be formed as a single integral unit without departing from the spirit of the invention. In the preferred construction of the novel cleaning tool, the nozzle body 10 may be formed as a plastic molding and 'the bottom plate 13 made of metal machined to the illustrated form, or alternatively the nozzle body 10 and the bottom plate 13 may be formed from the same materials, either plastic or metal, cast or otherwise formed to the desired configuration.

A surface contacting shoe 17 underlies the nozzle mouth 16 in spaced relation thereto to define a suction air passage 18 leading to the nozzle mouth 16. The surface contacting shoe 17 is preferably formed from sheet metal, and it includes a rearwardly disposed vertical flange 19 which abuts the rear of the bottom plate 13. Bolts 20, or the like, threaded into the bottom plate 13 through the flange 19 secure the surface contacting shoe 17 to the nozzle body 10. The surface contacting shoe a substantial distance rearwardly of the front of the bottom plate 13. Extending rearwardly from the front of the bottom plate 13, there is provided a plurality of auxiliary air passages 23 of a tapering cross-section directed towards the suction air passage 18, and each extending laterally of the nozzle mouth 16. The auxiliary air passages 23 are spaced along the width of the nozzle mouth 16. and are formed by grooves in the surface of the "bottom plate 13, which grooves are open to the atmosphere at the front of the bottom plate 13. The auxiliary air passages 23 are covered by a flexible vane 24 abutting the underside of the bottom plate 13 and extending the.

in the vicinity of the surface being cleaned, agitating the same to beat the dust and like litter out of the surface for removal thereof by the suction stream of air flowing over that surface. The surface contacting shoe 17 maintains the vane 24 in spaced relation to the surface so that the vibrations thereof will not be dampened.

The novel suction cleaning tool described herein is a preferred embodiment of the instant invention, and it is the front edge of the bottom plate 13in order that the.

vane 24 may flex downwardly away from the ends of the auxiliary air passages 23 for a purpose to be described hereinafter. In the normal position of the flexible vane;

24, as illustrated in Fig. 2, it abuts the bottom plate 13 sealing the ends of the auxiliary passages 23. The flexible vane 24 extends rearwardly from the front of the cleaning tool and terminates closely adjacent the nozzle mouth 16 so that a rear portion thereof overlies the surface contacting shoe 17 and is disposed in the suction air passage 18.

1 In using the novel suction cleaning tool of this invention, the dirty air stream discharge conduit 11 is connected to a'source of suction, and the tool placed against the surfaceto be cleaned with the surface contacting shoe 17 disposed in contact therewith, whereby the suction will be applied to the surface through the suction air passage 18.. The suction flow of air through the suction air passage 18 will reduce the pressure on the underside of the flexible vane 24 causing it to flex downwardly to the position illustrated in broken lines 27 in Fig. 2. Flexure of the vane 24 opens the ends of the auxiliary air passages 23 so that there will now be a suction flow of air therethrough, reducing the pressure on the upper side of the vane 24. The difierence in pressures on the opposite sides of the vane 24 will cause it to drop back against the bottom plate 13 again sealing the auxiliary airpas- .1

to be understood that "it is illustrative only and not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Modifications thereof falling within the spirit of the invention will occur to those skilled in the art, and accordingly, it is not intended that the scope of the invention be limited except as set forth in the claims which follow.

I claim:

1. A suction cleaning tool comprising: a body having an air discharge conduit adapted to be connected to a source of suction, means on said body defining an air inlet normal to'the surface being cleaned for passage therethrough'of ambient and dirt laden air to said discharge conduit, means including a flexible vane forming an auxiliary air passageway in said body connected to ambient air and having an outlet arranged to discharge into said air inlet and communicating therethrough with said air discharge conduit, said vane normally closing said ambient air 'outlet and being movable between two extreme positions in one of which it closes said ambient air outlet and in the other of which it prevents passage of dirt laden air through said air inlet, said vane having a portion arranged in said air inlet and subjected to the air pressures passing through said air inlet and auxiliary ambient air passageway for vibrating said vane between said extreme positions to alternately interrupt flow of ambient and dirt laden air through said air inlet into said discharge conduit, said vane having a portion extending forwardly from said air inlet and disposed exteriorly of said body in spaced relation to the surface being cleaned to impart pulsations to the air therebetween for agitating the surface to remove dirt therefrom as said vane vibrates to interrupt said flow of ambient and dirt laden air through said inlet.

2. A suction cleaning tool as described in which said means defining said air surface engaging shoe.

claim 1, in inlet also provides a References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

